The company states that it "saw on average eight new threat samples per second, and the increasing use of fileless malware attacks leveraging Microsoft PowerShell. The Q4 spike in Bitcoin value prompted cybercriminals to focus on cryptocurrency hijacking through a variety of methods, including malicious Android apps".

Raj Samani, McAfee fellow and chief scientist, said: "The fourth quarter was defined by rapid cybercriminal adoption of newer tools and schemes-fileless malware, cryptocurrency mining, and steganography. Even tried-and-true tactics, such as ransomware campaigns, were leveraged beyond their usual means to create smoke and mirrors to distract defenders from actual attacks.

"Collaboration and liberalised information-sharing to improve attack defenses remain critically important as defenders work to combat escalating asymmetrical cyber warfare."

Each quarter, McAfee Labs reminds us that it "assesses the state of the cyber threat landscape based on threat data gathered by the McAfee Global Threat Intelligence cloud from hundreds of millions of sensors across multiple threat vectors around the world. McAfee Advanced Threat Research complements McAfee Labs by providing in-depth investigative analysis of cyber attacks from around the globe".

Cybercriminals take on new strategies, tactics

"The fourth quarter of 2017 saw the rise of newly diversified cybercriminals, as a significant number of actors embraced novel criminal activities to capture new revenue streams. For instance, the spike in the value of Bitcoin prompted actors to branch out from moneymakers such as ransomware, to the practice of hijacking Bitcoin and Monero wallets. McAfee researchers discovered Android apps developed exclusively for the purpose of cryptocurrency mining and observed discussions in underground forums suggesting Litecoin as a safer model than Bitcoin, with less chance of exposure.

"Cyber criminals also continued to adopt fileless malware leveraging Microsoft PowerShell, which surged 432% over the course of 2017, as the threat category became a go-to toolbox. The scripting language was used within Microsoft Office files to execute the first stage of attacks."

Steve Grobman, chief technology officer for McAfee, said: "By going digital along with so many other things in our world, crime has become easier to execute, less risky and more lucrative than ever before.

"It should be no surprise to see criminals focusing on stealthy fileless PowerShell attacks, low risk routes to cash through cryptocurrency mining, and attacks on soft targets such as hospitals."

Health care targeted

"Although publicly disclosed security incidents targeting health care decreased by 78% in the fourth quarter of 2017, the sector experienced a dramatic 210% overall increase in incidents in 2017. Through their investigations, McAfee Advanced Threat Research analysts conclude many incidents were caused by organisational failure to comply with security best practices or address known vulnerabilities in medical software.

Christiaan Beek, McAfee lead scientist and senior principal engineer, said: "Health care is a valuable target for cybercriminals who have set aside ethics in favour of profits.

"Our research uncovered classic software failures and security issues such as hardcoded embedded passwords, remote code execution, unsigned firmware, and more. Both health care organisations and developers creating software for their use must be more vigilant in ensuring they are up to date on security best practices."

Q4 2017 threats activity

Fileless malware: In Q4 JavaScript malware growth continued to slow with new samples decreasing by 9%, while new PowerShell malware more than tripled, growing 267%.

Security incidents: McAfee Labs counted 222 publicly disclosed security incidents in Q4, a decrease of 15% from Q3. 30% of all publicly disclosed security incidents in Q4 took place in the Americas, followed by 14% in Europe and 11% in Asia.

Ransomware: The fourth quarter saw notable industry and law enforcement successes against criminals responsible for ransomware campaigns. New ransomware samples grew 59% over the last four quarters, while new ransomware samples growth rose 35% in Q4. The total number of ransomware samples increased 16% in the last quarter to 14.8 million samples.

Mobile malware: New mobile malware decreased by 35% from Q3. In 2017 total mobile malware experienced a 55% increase, while new samples declined by 3%.

Malware overall: New malware samples increased in Q4 by 32%. The total number of malware samples grew 10% in the past four quarters.

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One of Australia’s best-known technology journalists and consumer tech experts, Alex has appeared in his capacity as technology expert on all of Australia’s free-to-air and pay TV networks on all the major news and current affairs programs, on commercial and public radio, and technology, lifestyle and reality TV shows. Visit Alex at Twitter here.